Norway to boost defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2026

Norway aims to raise its defence spending to at least 2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026, in line with a long-held goal among members of the NATO alliance, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on May 2.

Norway’s defence spending is this year expected to amount to just over 1.4 per cent of GDP, according to the government’s budget projections, Reuters reports.

Norway’s spending on defence as a share of overall economic activity declined following the end of the cold war, but the war in Ukraine has shown the need for a stronger military, the government said.

“We have to pay a higher insurance premium. We need to spend a greater share of our common resources on defence, security and preparedness,” Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum told a news conference.

Norway shares a border with Russia in the Arctic. It has never been at war with its eastern neighbour.